Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Sunday called on the family of the 14-year-old girl who was gangraped and brutally murdered in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district earlier this month. Fadnavis, who was accompanied by Minister of State for Home Affairs Ram Shinde, said he had promised the family that the government “wouldn’t leave any stone unturned to bring the culprit to justice”. The Class IX student was allegedly raped and killed by three men on July 13 when she was returning from the house of the grandparents who stay about half a mile away. The three are Jitendra alias Pappu Shinde (25), Nitin Ghailume (26) and Santosh Bhawal (36), all residents of the same village. The post-mortem report said the girl’s body had serious injuries all over and that she died due to shock and asphyxiation. “CM @Dev_Fadnavis and Minister Ram Shinde meets family members of the victim at Kopardi. CM @Dev_Fadnavis expressed his deepest condolences and assured strongest action against culprit and strictest punishment through fast track court. A large number of people were present at this time in Kopardi. CM interacted with them and assured in his short speech that Govt will leave no stone unturned to ensure justice,” the CM’s office said in a series of tweets soon after his visit to the village. Earlier, Fadnavis had informed the Legislative Assembly last week that the accused had been booked under sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder) of the IPC and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He had also said noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam had been appointed as the public prosecutor in the case and the government had given Rs 5 lakh solarium to the victim’s family.
